Address by Mr. John McGuinness T.D., Minister for International Trade at an Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland Business Lunch in the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Osaka

Friday 16^th January 2009

Distinguished Guests,

It is my great honour and pleasure to meet with you today, leading an Irish trade mission to the Kansai region of Japan for the first time ever.

As you are probably aware, for most of the last 15 years Ireland has enjoyed a period of strong growth and is now one of the most dynamic and developed trading countries in the world, with a strong business and industrial technology base in high value-add industries, ably represented by the companies who are with me today.

Japan is an important market for Ireland in Asia. It is the largest economy in Asia and the second biggest economy in the world. It is globally renowned for its world-class technology and engineering capabilities, sophisticated consumers and honest and trustworthy reputation in business. Located in the heart of Japan, I know that the Kansai region is a very important part of this economy.

Japan is also the world’s leading manufacturer and the top net exporter of high tech products in the world. Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of visiting Toyota where I saw world class manufacturing at its best. I know that the Kansai region also has a strong manufacturing base and contributes significantly to the high level of manufacturing in your country.

We are proud of the fact that Ireland, one of the smaller countries of the world in size and population, has developed the capabilities to build a successful and fast expanding trading relationship with the world’s second largest economy. It is a significant endorsement of the capabilities of Irish companies that they are winning important business in this powerful and vibrant market that is set to be a global leader for many years to come. I very much hope we can further develop business relationships with you here in Kansai.

I would like to mention the Kansai Productivity Centre, which led a group of 23 senior business people from some of the most significant companies headquartered in the Kansai region to Ireland in October last year. I believe that these kind of exchanges are key to deepening understanding and creating a sound foundation for further business collaboration.

Like Japan, innovation has been a key part of Ireland’s development and we as a government nurture innovation. In recent years, Ireland has been investing more and more resources in the production of knowledge. Science and innovation has moved to the top of the national agenda, with substantial new State funding. An unprecedented level of investment by the Irish Government in science and technology is in the process of creating a vibrant and well-supported research community, giving a substantial resource for technology solutions and the basis for a stream of technology-based start-ups.

The Irish education system is designed to nurture curiosity, creativity and individuality which, in turn, fosters entrepreneurship. As a result, Ireland has become a highly entrepreneurial society. We are ranked fourth across the OECD and second in Europe for the number of early stage entrepreneurs. 8.2% of our adult population are established entrepreneurs.

The Irish Government understands the importance of maintaining a commitment to investment in innovation and R&D in the current difficult and very challenging global economic environment. We have this year pledged €8.2 billion towards scientific and technological research between now and 2013. In recent years, we have been particularly focussed on commercialisation of R&D and much of our investment will be in collaboration projects between our universities, which have traditionally been key R&D centres, and industry. We actively support international collaboration on these projects.

We also support established companies in developing R&D operations in Ireland and Enterprise Ireland’s recent investment in Diageo, the parent company of Guinness, which will open its Global Centre of Excellence for all their beer R&D in James Gate in Dublin, is an example of our commitment to supporting R&D. This project alone is expected to contribute €240 million to the Irish economy, predominantly in exports, over the next 3 years. We invite you, world-class Kansai companies, to collaborate with Irish companies and research institutes in these kinds of projects.

In parallel with innovation, trade is a key element in Ireland’s development as a successful economy. As a small country we are entirely reliant on external trade. Our export growth has been exponential over the past 15 years, with exports now representing over 80% of Ireland’s GDP. High technology exports now account for 41% of total exports from Ireland. This is the highest in Europe.

Armed with a proven track record in global trade and our tradition of innovation, we are now committed to developing a similar strong relationship with Japan. We know that Japan is open for business and our companies can, and already do, provide products, services and solutions across a broad range of sectors. Our focus is to match our creative, flexible, entrepreneurial companies with the strong, progressive, advanced companies that built Japan, many of them Kansai based.

Ireland, like Japan, has considerable strengths in the IT and Lifesciences sectors. We are very keen to develop this shared expertise and to encourage companies from the Kansai region to consider Ireland for investment projects. This would build on the experience of Takeda Pharmaceuticals who have two successful plants in Ireland.

I understand that 2009 is the year of the Ox in Japan, representing prosperity through fortitude and hard work. The participation of so many leading Irish companies on this trade mission demonstrates the growing enthusiasm in Irish industry and services for doing business in Japan. The companies taking part in the mission reflect the level of innovation, expertise and global nature of what Ireland has to offer – and our commitment in developing solid business relationships with Japanese counterparts.

Our participating companies hold the conviction, as I do, that Japan will continue to stride forward over the coming years to become an even more important part of the global economy. They are committed to the hard work required to make this a reality and the Irish government, particularly through Enterprise Ireland, is supporting them every step of the way. We feel it is important to nurture our relationships with you here in Kansai, the heart of Japan.

In the words of James Joyce - I will be tomorrow or some future day, what I establish today. I sincerely hope that my presence here today will establish the foundation stone for the development of a very fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship between Kansai and Ireland.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh go léir.

Ends/TC358